Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Onetime ‘Catskills of the West’ Resort Destroyed by California Wildfire

A resort that in its heyday garnered a reputation as the “Catskills of the West” was severely damaged in a wildfire that recently devastated Northern California.

Hoberg’s Resort, which at its peak in the 1950s hosted more than 1,000 guests a night, including many celebrities, was destroyed on the afternoon of Sept. 12, with only its chimneys and foundation remaining, JWeekly reported.

The Cobb resort, which was sold in 1974, reopened last year after being closed to the public.

The resort picked up the Catskills moniker in its heyday because of the number of Jews who stayed there, according to JWeekly.

“We did the sorts of activities at Hoberg’s which our brethren enjoyed in upper New York state, including camping, hiking, swimming, horseback riding, archery, crafts, etc.,” San Francisco Jewish historian Stephen Dobbs told the San Francisco-area Jewish publication.

On the resort’s website, the ownership and management said they “are devastated by the loss of historic buildings and artifacts. Our hearts go out to our neighbors who also suffered the incredible loss of their property and businesses within our community.”

Five people have been killed in two wildfires north of San Francisco, including the Valley fire that destroyed Hoberg’s. The fires also have claimed hundreds of homes.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.